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Oak Bay (B.C.)
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48th Battalion C.E.F. Association fonds

  • PR-2296
  • Fonds
  • 1915-1980

The fonds consists of the records of the 48th Battalion, C.E.F., Association and includes correspondence, newsletters, programs and financial information from 1936 to 1980. Most of these records were created by the Association's Vancouver branch secretary, Al La Fortune. The fonds also includes a photograph album created by La Fortune between 1915 and 1959 which shows members of the 48th Battalion (3rd Pioneer Battalion) at the Willows training camp in Victoria, going overseas, in England and at Vimy in France. The album also has photographs of the Association getting together for their reunions in Victoria from 1947 to 1959.

48th Battalion C.E.F. Association

Alfred Carmichael business records

Business records of the Oak Bay Lands Ltd., including correspondence, minutes, indentures, agreements, conveyances, prospectus, balance sheets etc. 1923-1936; Port Alberni Syndicate Ltd. 1909-1928 and the Investors Syndicate Ltd. 1933-1936. Carmichael was either Managing Director or Chairman of these enterprises. Alfred Carmichael was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1874, the son of a flour mill owner, and was educated at the Royal Academical Institution, Belfast, Lymn Grammar School, Cheshire and Manchester Technical School. At the age of 16, some time after his father's death, he came to Canada to make his fortune and then return to Britain. He reached Victoria in October, 1890 and found the city suffering a depression. His cousin, Herbert Carmichael, had preceded him to Victoria and his brother Norman followed later. He tried for a job in the machine shop of Albion Iron Works, but found that 40 had applied ahead of him. So he obtained a job in the boiler shop as a rivet heater at 10 cents an hour. The following year he began work at the Aberdeen Salmon Cannery on the Skeena River, supervising the filling of salmon cans. Then, in September 1892, he went to work for Robert Woods, the contractor for the building of the first paper mill in British Columbia, on the Somass River, Alberni. He worked for the paper mill company, which his cousin had organized. However, the mill had a serious fault. It lacked machinery to make paper from wood pulp. Such machinery was expensive and it was hard to raise capital, so the mill made paper from such materials as rags and old rope. Eventually the mill shut down as it was losing money. Alfred Carmichael began operating the sawmill attached to the paper mill. Logs and lumber were cheap and so he was able to run the mill at a profit. A self taught surveyor, Alfred Carmichael surveyed British Columbia coast water power sites for Scottish interests and reported favorably on the Powell River. Later he crossed in a skiff from Texada Island to Powell River and staked out the power site for a Victoria syndicate which later sold to Brooks/Scanlon interests. In the early 1890s he went with missionary Melvin Swartout on journeys along the west coast of Vancouver Island and to Barclay Sound and collected material for “Indian Legends of Vancouver Island,” published by Musson Book Company in 1922. Another collection of unpublished legends, illustrated by J. Semeyn, Frank Beebe and Judith Morgan, is held in MS-2305. Disappointed at the outcome of the paper mill affair, he decided to take a new direction, going to Atlin in 1899, where he prospected and placer mined for eight years. He spent the winter of 1907-1908 copper prospecting, timber cruising and locating timber on the Queen Charlotte Islands. With a partner, Alfred Woodcroft, he staked 22 square miles of timber, which he sold for a moderate profit. In the autumn of 1908 he took a contract from the Canadian Pacific Railway to clear the last eight miles of right-of-way for the extension of the Esquimalt and Nanaimo Railway into Port Alberni, taking Charles A. Moorhead (later Lieutenant-Colonel Moorhead) into partnership. He organized the firm of Carmichael and Moorhead Limited to handle real estate and insurance. This company placed the city of Port Alberni on the market. He also organized the Port Alberni Contract Company, which cleared the townsite and rough-graded the roads, and was the Managing Director of the Port Alberni Syndicate Limited. Carmichael married Kathleen Frances Withers on 7 April 1909. In 1911 and 1912 he visited England, and made reservations to return on the Titanic, but luckily because of some business in London he cancelled his passage and returned on the Cedric instead. From 1914 to 1923 Carmichael was Victoria manager of the Franco-Canadian Trust Company, Vancouver Island Fruit Lands Limited and Uplands Limited. He and associates had acquired 30,000 acres of Vancouver Island land which they sold at a profit of $3.00 an acre to the Franco-Canadian Company, but they had to accept part payment in Uplands shares. Then the company that sponsored that housing development folded and had to be taken over by the Franco-Canadian Trust Company, which had lent it shares. The firm of Carmichael and Company Limited was incorporated in 1923. In 1926 Carmichael formed a partnership with David Leeming (who later became mayor of Victoria) in organizing Oak Bay Lands Limited, Victoria Properties Limited and Exchange Building Limited. The Oak Bay Lands Limited bought 400 Oak Bay tax sale lots for $63,000 in 1926. Carmichael and Leeming sold $22,000 worth in two days by auction from a tent at the foot of Oak Bay Avenue, and paid over the money as part of the purchase price. Then came the 1929 slump and the lots lost their value. Oak Bay Municipality was taking possession of hundreds more lots and selling them in competition at lower prices. The company had to let its holdings go for taxes and the balance owing. Carmichael was the president of Victoria Rotary Club in 1929 and president of Victoria Real Estate Board in 1927, 1931 and 1932. In 1952, Carmichael retired because of a heart condition, leaving the real estate business of Alfred Carmichael and Company in the hands of his only surviving son, David. His eldest son, Brian, was lost while flying anti-submarine patrols in the Mediterranean during World War II, and his daughter was drowned in a yachting accident off Orcas Island in 1952. Mrs. Carmichael died in April 1953. Carmichael died on 30 January 1963 in Victoria at the age of 88. Records include the business records of Alfred Carmichael. The bulk of the unit consists of the records of the Oak Bay Lands Limited, including minutes of shareholders, Board of Directors and Annual General Meetings 1925-1936; a ledger listing various financial transactions 1925-1933; a deposit book 1925; Bank of Montreal payments 1925-1930; Land Registry Office notification of registration of titles 1925-1931; and sundry miscellaneous material such as indentures, correspondence, conveyances, prospectus, balance sheets, reports, bills, accounts, shareholders list, land titles etc. This unit also contains minutes of meetings 1909-1928, lists of directors 1909-1921, lists of shareholders 1909-1919, register of transfers 1909-1919 and a stock ledger 1909-1919 of the Port Alberni Syndicate Limited and deposit account books of the Investors Syndicate Limited 1933-1936. Related records in: MS-2305, which contains correspondence, manuscripts, articles, speeches, research notes, diaries, narratives, financial papers and newspaper clippings of Alfred Carmichael 1890-1961; MS-2306, which is the typed manuscript of “Indian Legends of Vancouver Island”; and MS-2307, which contains business records of various of Carmichael's companies 1914-1957.

Canada's evergreen playground

the item is a travelogue film. "An animated curtain rises to reveal waves washing in on a sandy beach. [Long shot of] Hatley Park castle from pond at bottom the garden, a rowboat passing by. "Princess Kathleen", CPR ferry, arrives in Victoria's Inner Harbour with visitors crowding the decks. [Close-up of] passengers along the rails as ship passes. Empress Hotel over the after deck of the "Kathleen". Passengers leave the ship, down gangways into a shed. Car driving along ramp out of a ferry named the "Olympic", under a sign reading: "Come again, Au revoir. For information apply Victoria Publicity Bureau." Several other cars disembark. Good aerial view of Inner Harbour, Customs House, CPR ferries and etc. from top of Parliament Buildings; pans across to Empress Hotel. Sign on a building reads: "New England Cafe -? ? ? - Ask anybody". Also good [long shot of] old Post Office, Belmont Building, streetcar passing on Causeway. A man and a girl examine a rose bush in the Empress garden. Ladies in Mayor Pendray's topiary garden look at a sitting bear, a fat bird, a bird's roost, etc. CPR ferry in [background]. Old codgers lawn bowling. Oak Bay golf course with golfers and CPR ferry sailing by in [background]. Swimming and diving in the Crystal Gardens. "Empress of Japan" in Esquimalt dry dock. Shot down Moss Street (?) with Olympic Mountains in distance. Mount Baker in far distance from Malahat overlooking Pat Bay. Car driving over Malahat Drive -- several shots including one down Finlayson Arm. A car travelling through the forest over a dirt road; a man & woman walk through ferns beneath the trees. Two couples hold hands around the base of a large tree. Car continues through forest. A speedboat, perhaps on Cowichan Lake. A gracious tea being served outdoors by a maid dressed in black, somewhere on the Oak Bay Golf Course, with the ocean & Olympic mountains in [background]. Curtain comes down over beach scene from beginning of film." (Colin Browne)

[CHEK-TV news film -- Victoria construction #1]

Stock shots. 1. Synagogue; church steeple; church exteriors. 2. Beaconville Apartments. 3. Congregation Emanuel Temple (Canada's oldest synagogue) being restored. 4. Unidentified interview [Rabbi or architect?]. 5. Metropolitan Store; street scenes. 6. Oak Bay Village. 7. Johnson Street Bridge. 8. Chinese hospital. 9. Coastal scenes. 10. E&N Railway 90th anniversary (1888-1978); train, station, engineer, conductor, etc. 11. Airport -- Air Canada counter. 12. Old Carnegie Library building. 13. Church interior -- Stations of the Cross. 14. St. Anne's Academy -- development plans. 15. Chinatown scenes. 16. Artist's drawing of gate; chart on wall, ending at June 28, 1981. 17. Undeveloped city land [ at St. Anne's?]. 18. Construction site. 19. Sewage outfall; protest banner; Clover Point. 20. Wrecking ball on the waterfront. 21. Office building and mall nearing completion. 22. Refinishing plaster work and gilt finish. Crystal Garden renovation. 23. Construction site. 24. Old building being renovated -- construction scenes.

Craigellachie at 1936 Hampshire Road, Victoria; pictured are Ella Joffrey, Mrs. Reginald Hayward, William Henderson

Easter 1904 - Craigellachie - name of house - 1936 Hampshire Road - Oak Bay. House then owned by Wm. Henderson which he bought from late John S. Bowker. Henderson sold to W.J. Alder (1912) who still lives there (Oct 1953). The house stands on five acres of land. Wedding reception of Reginald Hayward & Ella Joffrey was held here Dec 10 - 1908. L to r - Ella Joffrey - Mrs. Reginald Hayward Late Mrs. Joffrey - mother of Miss Ella Joffrey Late Wm Henderson. [from back of photo]

[Dean Heights School]

News item. School for children with mental disabilities. Teacher explains how the classes are run. Short footage of a student doing woodwork.

[Haida and orphaned seal pups at Sealand]

News item. Close-up shots of Haida being fed and scratched on the back by a Sealand keeper. Interview with a female keeper who is looking after two orphaned seal pups, both less than a month old. Shots of them receiving lots of attention.

Herbert Anscomb fonds

  • PR-2329
  • Fonds
  • [ca. 1911-1993; predominant 1924-1972]

The fonds consists of the records of Herbert Anscomb, who had one of the longest and most important political careers in the history of British Columbia. They document his activities as Reeve of Oak Bay, B.C., Mayor of Victoria, opposition member in the B.C. legislative assembly, cabinet minister in the B.C. government in numerous portfolios, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of British Columbia, and member of the federal Royal Commission on Transportation from 1959 to 1962. Predominantly, the records relate to his political career which began with his election to Oak Bay council in 1924 and ended with his defeat in the provincial election of 1952. The fonds also consists of a relatively small number of records concerning his personal life, family, and his involvement in the wine and brewing industry.

The documentary forms most significant in number include correspondence, photographs, and speeches (in public, in the legislature, and for radio broadcast). In smaller numbers the documentary forms include handwritten notes which were passed from MLAs to Anscomb during sittings in the legislature, magazine articles, and political campaign literature such as brochures, posters and pamphlets. The fonds also includes collected editorial cartoons, caricature drawings and other art work, certificates, reports, guest and visitors books, and ephemera.

The records reflect a wide range of subjects; these include: government, politics and economic policy during the depression and World War II, the province’s coalition government, infrastructure building, political competition against the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF party), the single transferable vote electoral system, the process of appointment to government jobs, hospital insurance, and the history of the Conservative Party in B.C. and its relationship with the federal party.

The fonds consists of six series, as follows:
• Provincial political records
• Municipal political records
• Personal records
• Royal Commission on Transportation records
• Photograph album
• Newspaper clippings scrapbooks

Records of particular note include detailed diaries which Anscomb kept as Minister of Mines, Minister of Trade and Industry, Minister of Public Works, and Minister of Municipal Affairs in the early to mid-1940s. The fonds also consists of a rich collection of photographs which document in particular his career as mayor of Victoria and as a B.C. government cabinet minister.

The fonds also consists of a series of 12 volumes of newspaper clippings dating from 1924 to 1978. These scrapbooks cover Anscomb’s entire political career; subjects include all aspects of government and politics in Oak Bay, Victoria and the province of B.C., and not just articles pertaining to Anscomb himself. The fonds includes a manuscript of an unpublished autobiography Anscomb began in 1953.

Where possible the archivist has arranged records chronologically. Where files clearly had been used together as a group by their creator, that order was maintained.

Anscomb, Herbert, 1892-1972

Joseph Clearihue interview

RECORDED: Victoria (B.C.), 1962-05-18 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: The Honourable Mr. Justice Joseph B. Clearihue recounts the 1859 arrival in British Columbia of his father, Joseph Clearihue; his businesses; early days in Victoria; teachers; Arthur Currie; May 24 celebrations; streetcars; Cattle Point slaughter house; Indians. He talks about the Chinese residents; Chinese New Year; funerals; vegetable sellers; selling fish; Todd's Cannery; opium; Chinese workers and workers returning to China in bonded cars through Canada. He recalls horse racing at Beacon Hill Park; outstanding teachers; George Jay; Mr. and Mrs. Henry Esson Young; Agnes Deans Cameron; Victoria following World War I; and Shelbourne Street. TRACK 2: Joseph Clearihue speaks about the boom days prior to World War I; land development; the Uplands residential district; industries in Victoria; the origins of the University of Victoria; Victoria College; speculation as to the growth; future and qualities of this university, and its relationship to the University of British Columbia.

[Killer whale -- Miracle]

News item. Shots of Miracle the killer whale being treated at Sealand for injuries (possibly from a boat's propeller blade). Veterinarian (?) says her chances of pulling through are "better than one to a hundred . . . . She is starting to turn the corner."

[Killer whale update]

News item. One of the keepers at Sealand says Miracle is showing definite improvement from her internal injuries. He feels that the cuts and marks on her back may indicate that she was lured to a motor boat with food. Consequently, it would be unwise to release her when she recovers. Also, her pod might reject her after her long absence.

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